Crossroads
by Serena Thorn
Summary: What if Ruby had gone with Whale instead of letting Emma and Mary Margaret talk him into leaving? What if Emma and Mary Margaret hadn't shown up at all?


**Title:** Crossroads  
**Summary:** What if Ruby had gone with Whale instead of letting Emma and Mary Margaret talk him into leaving? What if Emma and Mary Margaret hadn't shown up at all?  
**Rating:** PG  
**Spoilers:** 1x15  
**Disclaimer:** Once Upon a Time is not owned by me, but by ABC. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
**A/N:** Re-watching that scene, Whale didn't seem as much like a creep as we were originally supposed to view him (there was plenty of personal space between them, he didn't assume to know where she was headed or where she "should" be headed, etc.) With that in mind, I give you this.

* * *

After the fight with her Granny and having caused the scene she had at the diner, just about the last thing Ruby wanted to do was talk to anyone. She was ready for that bus to roll up to the stop any second and finally take her away from this godforsaken town.

So of course, as she waited, up walked Dr. Whale.

"Hello, Ruby," he told her, surprised to see her standing at the bus stop. He had originally been on his way home and had considered getting his usual drink at the diner, but then Ruby did have a way of distracting him.

"Dr. Whale," she replied just politely enough. The man was so often far from subtle with her and that was another thing she didn't want to have to deal with tonight. But so far he at least didn't seem to be ogling her like he did when she was in her waitress uniform. Score one for winter wear, she decided.

"It's awfully cold out here," he told her, unable to keep from noticing that her clothes didn't seem particularly warm. He wasn't surprised she would be the type to opt for fashion rather than functionality, her heels at the diner were further proof of that, but he could only think how cold she must have actually been.

"I'm fine, really," she lied. She hoped he couldn't see how she was nearly shivering.

"I can carry your bag. Where are you headed?" He would be happy to help, and if he got to enjoy a walk and maybe even some conversation with her then so much the better. He really hoped she wasn't planning to leave town, though her bags certainly did resemble luggage now that he really looked at them. As most did, he knew she longed to leave Storybrooke, but he knew the town really wouldn't be the same without her or her fiery personality. Someone had to keep life in Storybrooke from becoming even more monotonous. For him, that someone was certainly her. She never did what most expected, she followed her own rules. He admired that. He enjoyed it even.

Ruby glanced to the bus stop sign. "Boston. If my bus will ever show up."

"Boston?" His heart sank. "Why?"

She sighed, really not wanting to get into it. And certainly not with him. But the crestfallen look on his face he hadn't quite been able to hide gave her pause. He actually sounded like he would miss her. Because he knew he wouldn't have his diner eye candy anymore? Or was there another reason? And why was she thinking about it?

Finally, she answered, "It's been a long time coming. I need to get out of here. Away from this town, away from Granny..."

"I see," he replied with a nod. Now he understood. It wasn't particularly a secret things had been tense between her and her grandmother. He had been the one to treat Granny after her heart attack after all. "Well then can I wait with you? You seem like you could use some company, or even someone to vent to about what your grandmother did this time."

Ruby looked to him again that time, almost searching his features for any indication that he was trying to use this to some seedy benefit of his. But no. It seemed like the town doctor really didn't seem to have better plans than waiting with her at a bus stop on a freezing cold night. And he had even offered to carry her bag to wherever she had been headed, not even implying he would take her anywhere she didn't wish to go.

"But, I'll admit, I'm not sure the bus is going to come at this rate," he added with a quick glance to his watch. It wasn't particularly late, but he also couldn't remember the last time he saw an actual bus headed out of Storybrooke.

Ruby had been trying to not think of that for the past twenty minutes that she had been out there freezing her ass off.

"If you want to give it another ten minutes or so, I'd be happy to walk you back to Granny's if the bus doesn't come."

"I can't go back there," she blurted out.

"Right, she's the reason you want to get away," he reminded himself. He supposed they'd had some sort of argument. It seemed the only thing that made sense at the moment, though Ruby hadn't said it in those words. He supposed too it must have been worse than some of the others he had known about since as far as he knew this was only the second time Ruby had actually tried to leave town. He decided he only knew of the first since it had been the night of her Granny's heart attack and she had wrecked her car.

Ruby sighed again. "I just can't face her right now."

"Well I would offer to get you a room at the local inn, but, considering, I suppose that's out of the question."

Ruby actually almost laughed at that. "Yeah, you could say so." Plus she really wasn't sure how she would feel accepting something like that from Whale.

Glancing back to the baron streets again, he asked, "Where do you intend to stay tonight then, if the bus doesn't come? I would hope not out here."

She shrugged, finally beginning to accept that maybe the busses really didn't still run. "I'll find somewhere. Maybe I'll see if Mary Margaret's got room." She thought of Emma already staying there, but she supposed she could crash in a chair or something. It had to be better than a park bench or going back to the inn.

"You could stay with me tonight," he offered.

"I don't think so," she told him. She could only imagine his offer being for one reason and she was not about to go there tonight.

"I don't mean anything by it. I just mean that if Mary Margaret doesn't have room, I do. You can take the couch, or you can take the bed and I'll take the couch. At least until you find somewhere else to hide out."

Ruby studied him for a moment. He seemed almost genuine. Concerned, even. And lonely, as though he would jump at the chance of having her there just to talk to. After all he hadn't done more than talk to her so far. No leers or insinuations, his hands had even remained in his coat pockets, his eyes mostly only on hers. It was a little surprising. And thinking back to Mary Margaret, she knew Emma had been staying at her apartment, and a chair really didn't sound that appealing. Looking back to Whale, he really didn't seem like he would jump her or paw her at the moment... so, she decided what the hell. She was always up for an adventure. And if hiding out really was what she was doing, well, at least she knew no one would think to look for her at Whale's condo. With that she agreed. But not before taking him up on his earlier, seemingly chivalrous offer of helping her with her bag.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked as they stepped into the entryway of condo, leaving her luggage to rest by the door as he closed it and moved to hang up his coat. "Something warm, maybe?"

She chuckled.

"What?" he asked, confused as to what could be funny about such a simple question.

"It's just I'm usually the one asking you part of that," she answered with a glance up at him as she shrugged off her own coat. His home was warmer than she had anticipated, but she was thankful for it.

"I guess that makes me your waiter for the night then," he smiled to her. "So, what'll it be?"

"Hot chocolate?" she asked, unsure if he would have any.

"Do you mind if it's the powdered stuff?" He didn't have much of a taste for it himself, but for the nights he needed literal warmth from a beverage rather than the burn his throat would feel from his usual scotch he made sure to keep some on hand.

She shook her head. There was better, of course, and she knew she could whip some up in no time back at the diner. But she really didn't mind it and Whale had been nice enough to offer, so she wasn't about to say no just because he seemed to be living like the sort of bachelor he had always come off as.

While he headed off to the kitchen, Ruby decided to take in the surroundings. The black leather sofa hadn't surprised her, nor did the flat screen TV in front of her. But it was clear Whale kept it clean, maybe because he wasn't there enough to actually clutter it. And it also seemed spacious enough for two people, even if he was the only one living there. As far as hideouts went, Ruby decided, this one would do nicely for the night even if it had hardly been her first choice. If nothing else, even with him there, it still beat a random motel in a new city in the middle of the night. And true Whale didn't have the best reputation around town, but then neither did she.

"Hope it isn't too hot," Whale told when he reappeared, breaking into her thoughts.

Glancing up, she saw him walking over with a mug for each of them, and smiled in relief when he handed her the one intended for her. The mug was warm, but not so hot that she feared dropping it. "Thanks," she told him.

"You're welcome," he replied as he then gripped his own mug with both hands. "So, I know we're not exactly friends, but if you want to tell me what happened tonight, why you decided tonight was the night you had to leave Storybrooke, I'd be willing to listen."

She shrugged, not feeling like there was much to tell. But then she decided since Whale hadn't been at the diner to witness it for himself, maybe there was a bit of a story to it. "Granny got mad at me for talking to the stranger when he came in to eat, even loudly accused me of flirting with him, and we got into this huge fight over her wanting me to be more like her and to start working on nights we'd had an agreement about me never having to work on and even how I dress. So I quit."

"You quit the diner?" Apparently she really wasn't kidding about leaving this time.

"Yeah," she nodded after taking her first sip of the hot chocolate. "I quit and I went straight to the inn and I started packing. You can pretty much guess the rest since you found me at the bus stop. So yeah, that's what brings me to your couch and why I can't, and won't, face Granny right now."

"Do you think you'll be able to work things out with your grandmother?"

"You sound like you don't want me to leave." It wasn't the first time she had caught that tone from him, but she kind of wanted to hear him say why now, if that actually was the case. She had been wondering about it since they were at the bus stop.

"I don't, I guess," he admitted. "Who else at the diner would serve me without scowling at me the whole time?"

Ruby smiled before taking a long sip of the hot chocolate. He had a point.

He added, "Besides, we've all been part of this town for as long as any of us can remember. It wouldn't be the same if you left." He saw himself as easily replaceable, even forgettable. Ruby, however, was anything but replaceable or forgettable. He wasn't sure this was the time or place to admit he felt that way, but especially if she was still considering leaving town, he knew he might not have another chance.

She decided he had a point there too. She did have friends in town, but it wasn't as though she was planning on never coming back to Storybrooke. Though she couldn't claim to have had an exact return date in mind. Still, she had only been thinking of how much she had wanted to get away from Granny and certain other members of the town as she had packed. She hadn't thought much of Mary Margaret or Ashley or any of the others who might miss her or think the worst of her disappearing from town under the cloak of night.

But then just like Granny's heart attack and her car accident that same night, the busses not running tonight had stopped her from being able to leave. And now here she was with the last person she would have expected to have given her a place to stay for the night, and without seemingly expecting or asking for anything in return.

"I didn't really think about it like that," she told him after another a long sip from her mug. And then she found herself stifling a yawn. She wasn't sure what time it was, but she had been up since 6 that morning and Whale's sofa was beginning to feel entirely too comfortable.

"I should let you get some rest." He had wanted to keep talking to her, about anything really, just to enjoy more of her company and prove to her that he really wasn't some big bad wolf. He just really didn't get many platonic visitors. Even if he would have hoped Ruby wouldn't remain a platonic visitor or friend forever. But that wasn't what tonight was about, not when he had the chance to prove to her he wasn't as bad as some seemed to enjoy claiming he was. He could certainly handle being her friend tonight.

"I'm sorry, it's not you," she told him; sure he thought she was finding their talk boring. And though she may have wanted to talk about other things aside from Granny or the diner or even her planned escape from Storybrooke, she was genuinely getting tired. It wasn't even the hot chocolate, but just her sheer hours of having been awake, then working, and now the actual almost safety she found in being with Whale. It was certainly surprising, but she couldn't claim to not find comfort in it.

"I know," he told her with another small smile. "I'll go though, and put these in the sink," he added as he reached for their mugs. "And just in case you aren't here when I wake up, I appreciate you trusting me enough tonight. And you're welcome to stay for as long as you like."

Ruby smiled back to him as she stretched out on the sofa once he had left it. "Thanks for proving yourself trustworthy tonight. And I'll keep that in mind."

Whale knew he couldn't have been in the kitchen for longer than a matter of minutes as he rinsed out their mugs, but by the time he came back out into the living room to say goodnight, he found Ruby was already asleep. Or at least nearly there. Turning off the lights as he went through the room, Whale made his way quietly over to the entryway and picked up his black wool coat from its hook and walked back over to cover Ruby with it before heading off to bed himself.

He wasn't surprised the next morning when he awoke to find her gone, his coat still lying on the sofa almost in the same position it had been in when he laid it over her sleeping form. He was pleasantly surprised however to find a note from her propped up on the coffee table.

"_Thanks again for letting me crash here last night. And thanks for loaning me your coat too. Anyway, I'm going to see MM about staying at her place tonight. Have a good one. - R,"_ her note read.

It stung a little to know she hadn't decided to stay with him instead, but at least he felt he had made some progress with her. Even if that hadn't been the entire reason he had let her stay there. If nothing else she at least hadn't laughed in his face or slapped him at the offer.

Then, a few days later, almost as soon as Whale had begun to pretend he could get used to not seeing Ruby at the diner, there she was behind the counter again. For a moment it almost seemed as though she had never left and he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

"Dr. Whale," she smiled when she saw him, actually happy to see him for once. Maybe his own smile was infectious, she couldn't remember the last time she saw him so happy. It might have been a first. "Your usual?"

"Uh, yeah," he told her, shaking himself from his daze as he took a seat on the stool closest to him. For a reason he chose not to think about, his legs seemed to have chosen to go on strike at the sight of her. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Ruby nodded as she grabbed a pair of cardboard cups to fill with his coffee. "Yeah, sorry about the note, I just didn't think we needed to go through the whole awkward morning goodbye thing. And as for not being here, I went to work for Emma for a few days. It didn't really go like I'd hoped. But I managed to work things out with Granny, so here I am."

"I'm glad. I'm also glad you decided to stay. In town, that is."

"So am I actually," she said as she set the coffee on the counter and moved to grab a danish from the tray. She smiled for a moment before adding, "I'm also glad you were there to listen, and kind of talk me down, I guess." She really hadn't expected that from him, especially not him actually listening to her, but she had found herself thankful all the same.

He smiled back, even if only slightly as he went to pay her for his order. "Who knows? Maybe you'll return the favor for me one day."

"Maybe," she agreed as she slid him his coffee and handed him his danish. She couldn't imagine such a day, or night, would come. But then she hadn't imagined she would ever spend a night on Whale's couch either, so she supposed it might be possible after all.

The End


End file.
